Heavyweight rival Tony Bellew believes Anthony Joshua must hold off on a fight with Deontay Wilder until the American becomes a Pay-Per-View star in his own country.

As Matchroom stablemate Joshua prepares to face Joseph Parker in an attempt to further unify the division, Wilder has been left Stateside to contemplate how he nails down a future undisputed battle.

Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn wants Wilder to take on WBC Silver title holder Dillian Whyte before any Joshua fight, although Bellew says until ‘The Bronze Bomber’ sorts out his representation the ‘AJ’ contest could be a non-starter.

“He’s a good fighter, albeit different to a regular fighter. He does what it says on the tin. He’s wild. He’s powerful and unorthodox but that works in his favour. People think because technically he doesn’t do things in the right way he’s not that good. Make no mistake, Wilder can clean out any heavyweight in the world right now with one of those big swings,” said Bellew in his Metro.co.uk column.

“It’s down to poor promotion, poor managerial experience. He’s the first really recognisable heavyweight America have had since the days of Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield.”

On Joshua’s imminent fight with Parker and a future clash with Wilder, Bellew added: “It won’t be straightforward against Joseph Parker on Saturday but it’s impossible for people not to look at the future and at what’s next.

“All eyes are on a mega fight with Deontay Wilder. I can see why people are surprised by Wilder’s no-show in Cardiff but he’s taking a stance and showing he’s a big guy regardless. He’s saying ‘I’m a world champion in my own right’. Ultimately, though, nobody knows him. It’s unbelievable that the WBC heavyweight champion can have his name mentioned in New York and yet they don’t know who Wilder is.

“For (Joshua v Wilder) to happen they both have to be known. It should be doing two million PPV buys in America at the very least. The way Wilder talks and the knockouts both produce this should build into a huge fight,” pointed out the former WBC cruiserweight ruler.